Raekwon
1. Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. II (IceH20/EMI)
Chef makes good on his dubious promise to successfully sequelize his classic first album. After years of delays, Rae and his A-list cabal of rap producers meet at the crossroads of drug talk, real talk and grown-man talk.
2. Bat For Lashes
Two Suns (Parlophone)
Natasha Khan's ethereal, float-away chamber music with a sinewy heart. Plus, she's, like, super-hot.
3. Kid Cudi
Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (GOOD Music/Universal)
Kid Cudi sets out to conquer hip-hop's final frontier with warm, textured stoner melancholia.
4. Major Lazer
Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do (Downtown/Mad Decent)
In the party of the year in album form, producers Diplo and Switch dress up dancehall reggae in American Apparel zebra-print leggings and take it to a sweaty Baltimore house party.
5. Karen O And The Kids
Where The Wild Things Are OST (Interscope/Universal)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman and a kids' choir combine unbridled exuberance with an undercurrent of darkness to score Spike Jonze's wide-eyed vision.